Mid July, 2017. I had another two weeks in Colombia and the tough decision what to do in this short time. Spend hours on the bus to see more of the South, travel to Bogota or go to the remote region of Caño Cristales? In these days, someone mentioned the Parque Nacional Los Nevados nearby and finally I stayed where I was, at the Steel Horse Finca in Filandia.
I had to say good bye to Justin, one of my travel mate since El Salvador – I hope to see you on the other side one day! (If you have followed my blog for a little, he’s the talented kid behind many of these photos – thanks for sharing them with me!)
“Los Nevados” is not the most frequently visited National Park in Colombia, so finding hiking information was a little tricky. But hey, give it a try. The first mission was a 3-day hike to Laguna de Otún. After a bumpy, 3h dirt road ride on Mitch’s motorbike we finally reached the trail head. The trek was easy to find, and the surrounding area was changing constantly – a beautiful hike! Closer to the lagoon we saw for the first time Frailejones – flowers, only growing at the high altitudes of Colombia. Apparently, they’re growing only 1-2cm a year, some of them must be sooooo old!
This was my first self-organized multiple day hiking trip and it won’t be the last one. However, I need proper hiking equipment. Summer sleeping bag, a pool air mattress as a sleeping pad, and tennis shoes don’t serve for hikes at 3500m of altitude in the Andes. Thank god, Mitch was a little more prepared, but having a stove does not necessarily mean that you can use it. Exhausted and cold, we wanted to cook some noodles for dinner but couldn’t get this stupid stove to work. 2h later we were ready to give up, packing up, when a tiny metal thing fell out of the bag. Lesson learned. NEVER FORGET THE FLAME DISPERSER – and we could FINALLY cook dinner! Another lesson I learned – carrying 3L of box wine up to 4000m is heavy!!
But all of this didn’t keep us from trying it again two days later. Mission #2, a 4-day hike to Nevado Tolima in the same national park. We drove to the Valle de Cocora, where it should start and exchanged the steel horse to a living horse. This short cut was totally not planned but for me a VERY welcoming opportunity 😀 wooop horse riding again! However, we did not bring enough cash to pay. The guide was standing in for us, agreeing that we could pay him back when we’d return. Soo friendly, incredible!!
Riding the first part was the best idea ever, it saved us almost 1000m of elevation on the first day. The horses are like little mountain goats, going over rocks and along tiny paths – our German horses wouldn’t even dream about. I was happy though, to ascent with them only. Descending looked a little like a suicide mission.
When we got to the first hut, we changed to our feet, but soon wishing we had the horses again! Within minutes we knew why the people, coming in our direction, looked like they’d been fighting a mud battle. Knee deep mud for the next 3h ascent. Wuheeeee – my only mission was to get up there with dry feet (you know, Antonia is still running around in tennis shoes).
Somehow, I made it and away from the trek we found a place to sleep. Next day it was still cloudy and muddy. After the second hut plants got lower and less – a very interesting nature surrounded us. Then we finally got in sight (clear sky!!) of our destination – the peak Nevado Tolima. By now we knew from other people that there would only be access up to the glacier, unless we had some ice climbing equipment – what we did not have. Plan for day 3 was the foot of the glacier, so we hiked as far as possible and found a protected camp spot in the early afternoon, at the bottom of the mountain. This time we did not bring wine (yes, I learned!) but something delicious called Hot Toddie (rum, honey, lime juice and spices). What we did not consider – elevation has a serious influence on how much alcohol you can drink. Wuuuiiiihioooo thank god we did not have to walk any further today and could only enjoy the stunning few of the glacier.
When we woke up in the morning the mountain was gone, hidden behind the clouds. We still started the ascent, hoping it would clear up. However, at 5000m, 0m sight, and 0°C we decided that everything further would be stupid and dangerous – and turned around. The return was not much fun anymore. Weather didn’t get better; the trek was even more muddy and I didn’t care about wet shoes anymore. I wanted to get out of there asap. 6.30pm we arrived at the first hut and the ranger told us that camping was not allowed on this only piece of flat grass within miles. WHAT A BUMMER!
It was raining already, we set up tent in a far corner of that property – not caring about permissions anymore.
For the last day, sun showed up and the last kilometer were a beautiful relaxed walk out. What an adventure!
Time in Colombia was up! I would head South now, to meet my mum at the boarder to Ecuador.
Colombia, it’s been a pleasure! I’ll be back one day!
